MGT 4302, International Management 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
4. Analyze important elements of effective cross-cultural negotiation and communication. 4.1. Explain the importance of international trade organizations. 4.2. Analyze effects of political changes on business strategies. 4.3. Discuss the effects of constant change in political business environments. 4.4. Discuss business culture within specific nations.
Required Unit Resources Chapter 4: The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture Chapter 5: Managing Across Cultures Unit Lesson Culture is discussed, praised, derided, and disregarded every day by organizations and media sources, sometimes all at the same time. Luthans and Doh et al. (2024) depict culture as knowledge that people use to interpret practices and generate social behavior. Understanding the meaning of culture, its dimensions and how to manage across cultures is a critical skill for international business management. Peter Druker (2001) posited that management is quite deeply rooted in culture. For example, what managers do in England, the United States, or Japan is exactly the same, but how they do it is invariably different. The colloquial term common sense is generally meant to mean the ability to see, understand, and make decisions the same way that others in the same situation do. However, it is equally applied as a criticism when an individual makes a different decision than others. No one has the same common sense as another person because each person’s experiences are different, even if they live in the same household. This is important because what is common sense to someone with a Russian heritage may not be the same as someone who has a German heritage, even if they grew up in the same town in the United States. Another way to think about this is when you swim in a river, large lake with a current, or ocean and get caught up in a riptide, each person’s natural reaction is to fight against the current. Yet, this is how most people perish. Some so-called common-sense decisions do more harm than good. This is important in business and especially international business because what seems natural to one person will be unnatural to another. Thus, decisions will need more information, detail, and consideration. Thomas Friedman authored a book entitled: The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. Friedman’s book highlighted changes that have taken place globally, which have brought multiple nations on a level playing field economically. This “flattening” has produced some challenges. In analyzing Friedman’s work, we can understand that just because business is growing more globalized, cultural differences will not go away. In fact, as more cultures interact, some characteristics may merge while others may be more noticeable (Davey, n.d.). Doh et al. (2024) note the following characteristics of culture: learned, shared, transgenerational symbolic, patterned, and adaptive. The United States, Canada, and Australia are melting pots of different ethnic groups, which have created their own culture from the variety of groups that have traveled together. Business strategies for a German company are different than a German American company in the United States. Business to a Japanese person in Japan is different than to a Japanese American in the United States. Another way to think about this is by the common business greeting, the handshake. Asians have a soft handshake, Middle Easterners have a gentle grasp, the English shake hands softly, while Americans shake
UNIT III STUDY GUIDE Management in a Cross- Cultural Environment
MGT 4302, International Management 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title
hands firmly. In the United States, people often determine a person’s business acumen by the way they shake hands. This judgment is incorrect and problematic. Americans deliver a firm or crushing handshake to demonstrate they want to do business. In an Asian country, this is aggressive, rude, and an attempt to harm someone physically. The same is true for looking at someone in the eyes. While certain cultures in the United States find this important, the way most Americans do this appears to be offensively aggressive in Asian and some South American cultures. As individuals in all cultures form opinions of others within the first minute, the way you shake hands and look at someone will determine how the business meetings go. Asian cultures much prefer bowing the head. This was also George Washington’s preference, the first President of the United States. President Washington felt shaking hands was a dirty habit that should be abolished. Americans also have the habit of admiring things in homes and buildings believing that compliments carry favor. In Arabic countries, people feel obliged to give you the things you admire. This obviously creates strife within a family if you admire a family heirloom. It also makes Americans appear greedy. And as cultural behavior impacts international management, it is important to be aware of the culture you are going into. For example, some cultures have centralized decision-making while others distribute decision-making throughout the various levels of the company. Likewise, some cultures have individual rewards while others prefer rewarding the group; some cultures crave stability while others value innovation (Doh et at., 2024). Cultural differences come down to values and what is valued in a society. These differences also mean the ways of doing business will be different. Joking and laughing while on break in the United States is common, while it would be uncommon in other countries. Drinking beer or wine at lunch is common in Germany or France, but it would be problematic for anyone in an American company. Issues that may be seen as the same can be handled differently. For example, in the United States we have the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA law requires employers to give an employee who has had a baby six weeks of leave. This benefit is unpaid. Yet, the United States and Papua New Guinea are the only countries in the world where employees are unpaid on maternity leave. A working woman in another country who takes maternity leave is paid, and she can have as much as six months off with paid leave. As a manager, you can request temporary help, but you cannot replace the person. Unlike the United States where the money is often seen as cost savings, it is not cost savings in any other country except Papua New Guinea. Thus, managing principles can be similar but differ in application from country to country. Thinking that the philosophy of management of a parent company or where the company was founded and headquartered guides all decisions is known as being ethnocentric. One concern is that when you live in a different country or manage people from a different country, while the surface items may appear to be similar, each item will have different levels of values because of the additional ethnicities involved. As global businesses grow and electronic communications make it easier to communicate and obtain information, some cultural issues are diminished. This brings about the globalization imperative. Globalization imperative is the belief that a worldwide method of doing business is a way to make business transactions efficient and effective (Doh et al., 2024). A globalization imperative helps make decisions within a company, and it can help with advertising and packaging as well. Therefore, we often have instructions in products we see in different languages. While not always optimal for customers, some products are used the same way by different populations, which allows the company to save money and time in printing instructional booklets and packaging. An example of a product that is used the same way through different cultures is hair dye. Women and men all over the world have used hair dye for centuries. Manufacturers can base decisions globally rather than locally or regionally because the product is used exactly the same way in all countries. In developing a multicultural approach, one great way to find information about other cultures is to look at the World Factbook published by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The World Factbook details geography, people and society, government, economy, energy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues. While it may not be as thorough as what a business may need to make decisions, it provides a place to start for any executive who needs to find more information about the people the company is working with or hiring. It can help a new manager become more cognizant of co-worker’s cultures and allow them to find information that is relevant to the company as it operates within another culture.
MGT 4302, International Management 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title
While business appears to be the same all over the world, it is important to be aware of cultural differences. There are definitely differences in the ways cultures manage businesses and employees. Political issues can also affect operations. Managers working in other cultures, even if they live where the company was founded, need to be sensitive to employees who have different backgrounds. To do this, the employees, whether staff or management, should learn as much as they can about another culture through current, published media sources before asking their co-workers. Some questions can be offensive to co-workers from other cultures. Printed materials from items, such as the World Factbook, can make a person more aware of the cultural differences.
References Davey, A. K. (n.d.). 5 mistakes to avoid when working across cultures. Culture Confidence.
http://culturalconfidence.com/5-mistakes-to-avoid-when-working-across-cultures-by-anna-katrina- davey/
Doh, J. P., Luthans, F., & Gaur, A. (2024). International management: Culture, strategy, and behavior
(12th ed.). McGraw-Hill. https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781265812874 Druker, P. (2001). The essential Druker. HarperCollins. Suggested Unit Resources At the end of each chapter in your textbook, there is a feature titled “In the International Spotlight” that offers a profile of a distinct country. This is followed by the exercise “You Be the International Business Consultant” that presents a business challenge in that country and invites you to recommend a course of action. You are highly encouraged to review the following country profiles in this unit:
• “In the International Spotlight: Turkey,” p. 161 • “In the International Spotlight: Poland,” p. 185
In order to access the following resources, click the links below. The following research article examines the importance of cultural dimensions in improving risk management and identifies competences managers must possess to make decisions in a cross-cultural environment. Rodríguez-Rivero, R., Ortiz-Marcos, I., Ballesteros-Sanchez, L., & Romero, J. (2018, February). The
opportunity to improve psychological competences of project managers in international businesses. Psychology & Marketing, 35(2), 150–159. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=bsu&AN=127242361&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Lee, Y.-T., & Liao, Y. (2015). Cultural competence: Why it matters and how you can acquire it. IESE Insight,
26, 23–30. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=bsu&AN=110440372&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Learning Activities (Nongraded) Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information. You are encouraged to explore the Films on Demand database in the CSU Online Library or YouTube content for further videos using the key terms from your textbook on pages 157 and 180.
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